


Hardy

by FanFictionEngineer



Series: Gaalee Bingo 2020 [5]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Desert Living, Gaalee 2020 bingo, M/M, Rock Lee beomces Johnny Bravo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:46:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26840866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanFictionEngineer/pseuds/FanFictionEngineer
Summary: To live in the desert, the shinobi have to be clever, the creatures hardy, and the flora enduring.Or in the case for the green spandex wearing Leaf shinobi very stubborn.Gaalee 2020 BingoGreen Card 1 - DESERT FAUNAPartial prequel to "Moon Washed"
Relationships: Gaara/Rock Lee
Series: Gaalee Bingo 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948663
Comments: 14
Kudos: 36
Collections: GaaLee Bingo





	Hardy

**Author's Note:**

> Kind of a prequel to "Moon Washed" but can be read as separate.  
> I actually had to look up the definition of "fauna" because I never really knew what it meant. Like, I knew flora was "flowers" but I heard the term used with flora but I thought it was another word for plants. XD
> 
> I stayed up to 3 AM to finish this folks and my back is killing me. 
> 
> Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. All spelling and tense errors are my own.

Life in the desert was harsh. One small misstep, one false move, or a lapse in judgment could lead one to get bit by the many venomous reptiles, scorpions, or spiders, poisoned by eating the wrong plant or tainted water, trapped in quicksand, falling into one of the many crevices hidden by the sand or worse, death. Whether death came for you quickly or slowly, would make you pray or curse to the higher powers that some believe ruled from the heavens.

It was the perfect environment for youthful training!

Lee grinned as he scanned the every rolling and rising dunes, as far as the eye could see. Standing just outside Sunagakure, the sand seemed to shine like gold as the sky was ever so blue, without a cloud in sight.

“What a beautiful day!” Lee exclaimed. “Running to our goal during high noon shall increase our resistance to the heat”

Lee didn’t have to turn around to see Neji’s scowl or Tenten’s exaggerated look of disappointment. But Lee did turn around and gave them a blinding smile as he continued, “Truly we are living in the moment of youth in helping our comrades!”

“The point of this mission is to help the sand shinobi with a nest of three-tailed scorpions before they kill some of the caravans, not to suffer another one of your ‘youthful’ training during part of the day that everyone is smart enough to avoid,” drawled Neji, his left eye twitching; a clear visible sign that he is annoyed.

“Neij’s right Lee,” Tenten added, using one of her fans to try and cool herself. “The sand shinobi have lived in this desert for years. If they know it’s smart to go indoors when it’s almost noon, then so should we. We aren’t built with their endurance.”

“Nonsense,” scolded Lee. “Anyone can accomplish anything if they put in the effort with the power of youth and their heart. Besides, our comrades are relying on us to help, how can we turn them down in their hour of need?”

Neji just shook his head and muttered, “You tried”, to Tenten as she sighed.

Team Guy had received a mission from Sunagakure, personally from the Kazekage himself, requesting aid. A large nest of scorpions had reached maturity and as a result, had risen above ground. It was soon after that traveling caravans were being attacked, to be used as a food source for the growing colony.

Normally, the sand shinobi would have had enough forces to destroy the nest, it soon proved that this nest has been nurturing itself slowly, gaining much thicker exoskeletons than normal. As a result, more muscle had been needed to destroy the nest, muscle that the sand shinobi didn’t have as they relied more on puppeteer, or poison techniques than solid taijutsu.

The three of them had arrived late last night after two days of nearly constant running, Lee ecstatic of having beaten his record, and Neji and Tenten ready to kill Lee if they hadn’t been wheezing so terrible. They had been shown to their accommodations shortly after arriving, the jonin on duty telling them that the mission briefing would be happening when they waked up.

But much to Lee’s shock, they had slept in till nearly 11 am, and everyone was busy to hold the mission briefing then. So Lee came up with the brilliant and youthful idea of leaving the village to serve as the first-contact group.

“Geez, you really put on a show, don’t you Bowl Cut?” asked a voice from the shade of the entrance to the village.

Leaning against the wall, amused making the paint shift in his face, stood Kankuro in full master puppeteer uniform. Behind him were two ANBU shinobi, one with a mask of a bird and what Lee assumed was some kind of rodent.

“Kankuro-san,” saluted Lee. “It is good to see you. Will you be joining us as we make our way to the nest?”

Kankuro snorted before blowing out the air through his mouth. “No way, its suicide to go out during the hottest part of the day towards that area of the desert. Gaara sent me to make sure you didn’t leave the village”

Neji and Tenten both shot a look of ‘told you so’ to Lee who only grinned sheepishly.

“That is very kind of Gaara, however, the mission is important. Would it not make sense to have a team there for surveillance?” asked Lee

Kankuro shook his head as he replied, “The area has been coordinated off to all non-shinobi people and it's being constantly watched by a small force of ANBU to track the scorpion movements. Right now they won’t travel far from the main entrance of the nest so we still have time before they become a real problem.”

Another ‘told you so’ was sent towards Lee and he sank underneath the hot sun and hotter looks from his teammates.

“I was only trying to help,” muttered Lee, shame making his face red.

Kankuro must have been feeling nice as he stepped out of the shade and walked towards Lee to clap him on the shoulders. “No harm, no foul. It’s good that you want to work so hard but Gaara wouldn’t forgive me if anything happened to you”

There was a huff from Tenten as Kankuro rolled his eyes and added, “Or if any harm fell to your friends. Come on, let’s go back to the hotel, I hear that you guys are getting spoiled over there and I am always up for free food.”

Neji hid his grimace behind his sleeve and Tenten gagged. Because of the lack of fertile soil, the citizens of the Land of Wind had created a large menu of dishes, nearly using all of the parts of the animal compiled with strong spices. For Neji, whose idea of spice was adding some salt and calling a dish done, and Tenten, who had never eaten such a variety of cut meats; it wasn’t their idea of a wholesome meal.

But Lee didn’t mind. After eating Guy-sensei’s Curry of Life among other innovating dishes and drinks, he had gained an iron stomach and a high resistance to spices.

“I shall join all of later than,” Lee said, following the group back into Sunagakure. “But I think I will do some training to warm up before we leave.”

Kankuro shrugged his shoulders with a look of exaggeration with raised eyebrows. “Alright, just don’t pass out because of heatstroke.”

Lee grinned as he gave Kankuro his ‘Good Guy’ pose. “Have no fear Kankuro-san. If I shall pass out then it means I only need to train better and try harder. If I shall pass out, then I will shall do 1000 sit ups underneath the noon sunlight.”

The ANBU regarded Lee for a brief moment before turning to each other, as if mentally communication on how bizarre the Leaf shinobi was. Once inside the village, the two ANBU dispaaeared in a swirl of smoke and Knakuro with Neji and Tenten headed towards the hotel.

True to his word, Lee headed to the open training grounds. While Lee worked through his normal regime, taking into account the heat and worked on quantity rather than speed, he could not help but feel like he was bring watched. It was an odd prickly feeling that seemed to linger on the back of his neck. Of course it could have been the sand; it was everywhere, even indoors despite the best efforts of the janitorial staff.

The sun had passed by its highest point, now late in the afternoon and he was only half way when an ANBU appeared, his cloak hardly fluttering in the effort.

Lee looked up, his muscles already tensing for an expecting fight. ANBU did not spprst unless something terrible has happened.

“Come to the Kazekage’s office,” he said. Well, Lee assumed it was a man or a rather deep voiced woman. “It’s time for the debriefing and you are leaving the village soon after.”

Lee had jumped to his feet and was already running in the direction of the Gaara’s office before the ANBU had finished speaking.

Finally, the mission could start! What a wonderful youthful exercise this will be. Guy-sensei would be so impressed.

* * *

The half-moon was low in the sky and the sky was turning pink of a new dawn. Lee crouched on a rock, looking directly at a rock formation that had a gaping hole in it; the entrance to the nest. 

After Lee had run to the Kazekage office, the mission debriefing had begun, and it had been well, brief. Gaara explained that there would be three teams; ANBU on standby, Gaara with puppeteers to distract the scorpions, and plant the explosions to destroy the nest, and Team Guy being the heavy hitters.

Once all the supplies and shinobi had been gathered, they were immediately out of the village. The run lasted well into the night until they came to a rockier part of the desert. And it was there that Lee saw what they were up against.

He knew they were going to be larger than any scorpions that Lee has seen in the desert but he had not expected them to be this large. Three times the size of a fully grown Akumaru, their pincers looked like it could cut telephone polls in half. Its eyes were bulgy, sitting like two black balls on the face of the scorpion, and if danger was sensed, could actually be retracted into the scorpions’ exoskeleton. But besides the eyes large size, Lee was assured that they had terrible vision.

Too bad Neji didn’t, judging by the way he shuddered when he saw them. Something like that could follow anyone into their dreams.

The scorpion’s dull armor appeared black under the moonlight but in the dawning light, appeared more like its natural pale tan that was expected. Lee could see how these creatures could ambush the caravans. If they retracted their eyes and buried themselves in the sand, they were basically invisible unless you knew what you were looking for.

Lee watched the last of the scorpions disappear underground, its three tails, hence why it was called the Three-Tailed scorpion, swinging back and forth as if it was dancing to the tune of the earth. Seeing a flicker of sand, Lee watched as Gaara levitated Kankuro and four puppeteers into the air with his sand and took them below ground.

The sun had finally risen, casting the world in a color show of orange, blue, pink, and gold. As the scorpions were nocturnal creatures, the best time to strike was when they had all returned to the hive and would enter a trance, their version of sleep.

Attacking before they fully fell into a trance would leave them truly disorientated, something that Team Guy would be able to use to their advantage. But it would not last long. The scorpions would flee into the many underground tunnels that would make pursuit difficult. That is where Kankuro and his team came in with assistance from Gaara.

Before Team Guy would lead the first and major assault, bombs would be placed in the tunnels, collapsing them and leaving the scorpions trapped in a small area, forcing them above ground to go against Gaara and the ANBU. It was a straight forward plan, but the area of error could be large if one team was not in sync with the others.

So Lee waited, with Neji and Tenten, waiting for the signal. Lee tapped his fingers against his thighs in a rhythmless order, eager for some action. Tenten grabbed his fingers to still them as she shot him an annoyed look. These scorpions were hypersensitive to motion and could detect movement around them through the fine hairs that covered their body as well through the sand.

Had these scorpions not endangered the lives and safety of those living in the area, Lee was sure Shinso would have loved to study them, maybe take one or two back for a breeding project.

There a flicker of sand and Lee watched, a grin growing on his face, as Gaara exited from the nest entrance with Kankuro and his team in tow. Gaara made eye contact with Lee and his team and nodded. The explosives were in place, now was the time to act.

Lee felt Neji and Tenten each place a hand on his shoulders. It was now time for his part. Because of Lee’s speed (increased as he had taken off his weights), he would be the first in, taking out the massive defenders that would be near the entrance. Neji and Tenten would be following after him, using the Soft Fist and explosive kunai technique respectively.

Lee crouched, a possible manic grin on his face, and with a great kick, shot towards the entrance. He didn’t let the sudden darkness bother as he continued to fly down the large tunnel, gently placing his feet into the carved footrests Gaara had made for him.

The scorpions feed off a diet of meat and fungi, fungi that emitted light as it decayed. They would provide enough light for Lee to see. Seeing a faint green light ahead, Lee slowly down, just enough, so that when he crashed into the first scorpion, it fell apart like one of Kankuro’s puppets that had its string cut.

Lee was able to crush two more of the large defenders before the nest came alive with the sounds of something hard scrapping on stone and the chittering of many insects. Lee grinned as he hopped around, like the cute kangaroo mouse he had seen earlier.

Ducking into one of the side tunnels, Lee used a **Leaf Hurricane** on a cavern full of scorpions waiting to molt into their adult forms. They disappeared underneath a wave of fluid and a stench of something rotting.

Lee made his way into more caverns, crushing all that got in his way: white-in-color newly molted scorpions still soft, pulsing dark orange eggs, scorpions that hadn’t molted yet, solider and patrolling adult scorpions. None stood a chance against him.

He had just destroyed a third cavern filled with eggs and was back in the main cavern when a deep rumble seemed to echo through the stone around him. It vibrated up his feet and legs into his chest where Lee lost his breath. The matron of the nest, the egg-laying queen, was awake. The rumbling continued to make the stone vibrate as it got louder to the point where Lee’s ears were ringing.

There was a swishing sound as something flew from behind him into the gaping hole where the sound came from. There was silence before an explosion rocked the nest. Lee turned to see Neji and Tenten, breathing hard and both covered in the clumpy insides of the scorpions.

Tenten unraveled a scroll and began throwing the kunai that had bomber letters attached towards were the explosives were placed. The explosions would cause the tunnels to collapse, causing the nest to become separated. Any scorpions in those tunnels would be trapped and starve to death.

But that was if they lasted long after the main cavern collapsed, the resulting rockslide killing the queen and therefore severing the hive mind link. The recoil would mostly kill the weaker scorpions such as the tunnels and young, leading to a peaceful death.

Lee grinned as he launched himself at Neji and Tenten as she threw the last kunai. They had mere seconds to get out and Lee had to make sure to make those seconds count. Grabbing them, Lee made sure he had a good grasp before he ran down the tunnel towards the entrance.

The first explosion made him skid but Lee was able to recover and continued to run. Tenten tapped his neck, giving him a physical counting down the time before the tags went off. He had just made it the entrance when a massive explosion knocked him off his feet, sending him and his teammates flying into the sand.

There was an orchestra of sound as rocks cracked and crunched against each other, sand hissing as it was thrown into the air, and the gurgling of water from an underground oasis. When all was silent, Lee took a look and his jaw dropped.

The rock formation and the surrounding area were gone, having sunk after the collapse of the main cavern. All that was left to show anything might have been there were the tired and dirty shinobi.

Lee whooped as Neji and Tenten sighed, sinking into the sand. Kankuro cackled off to the side and Lee turned to see Gaara talking to one of the ANBU. Lee was about to walk over to talk to his friend when he left the sand shift beneath him. A trickling of unease overflowed him as he grabbed his teammates, and despite their squawk of protest, threw them over to where Gaara stood.

Not even seconds later did the ground heave beneath him and Lee was able to jump out of the way as a large red pincer emerged followed by another one. Soon followed by three orange eyes, a lavender purple exoskeleton, and three swinging tails, each poised to strike. The queen had not only survived but arrived to avenger her colony.

Lee crouched and launched into the first phase of the **Lion’s Barrage Strike.** He faintly heard over the roar of his blood, the cries of shock, and the clear “No!” from Gaara as his fists strike the joint between the body and one the queen’s leg.

Lee felt pain shoot up his arms and jumped back to see the fine hairs imbedded into his arms. Let it be known that the armor of a queen is different than the armor of her soldiers. There was a wordless cry of fear and alarm and Lee looked up in time to see one of the tails aim for him.

Everything seemed to slow down as Lee watched the stinger pierce his body. His body jerked as the stinger hooked into his flesh and he was pulled up into the air. Lee tried to move but his body felt heavy and his eyes were tired. The last thing Lee truly remembered as he slipped on the stinger and began to fall, was the look of horror in his teammate's faces and a twisting expression of anguish on Gaara’s before everything went black.

* * *

Lee felt…odd. Not odd as in, I just had twelve burritos and feel weird, kinda odd. But more like disconnected, as if his body was lying under many heavy blankets that he couldn’t move, kinda odd.

Slowly opening his eyes, he was greeted to a blaring white surrounding that made him squeeze his eyes with a hiss. There was the sound of movement off to his right, as if something heavy had been lifted.

A familiar presence flickered and Lee opened his eyes to squint at whoever it was. There, standing beside him, was Tenten. Lee blinked as he slowly took in his friend’s appearance. Her eyes were red and there were tracks of something down her face. Her uniform was frumpy as if she had just rolled out of bed and her hair was down. She looked like she had pepper juice squirted into her eyes and rolled in a sand pile.

She opened her mouth just as something clattered outside of Lee’s view. The loud noise was making his head throb.

“How is he?” rumbled a voice. For some reason, that voice made his heart flutter. But he knew that voice! But…who did it belong to?

Lee got his answer as a petite redhead moved into view, taking a spot beside Lee on his left, looking down with a look of worry, tiredness, joy, and relief that made his insides feel warm. This person…..this person was important. Lee knew that. But how important to Lee was he?

His eyes reminded Lee of sea glass, smooth and polished. His pale skin made him looked like he had been chiseled from ivory; it looked smoothed and soft to the touch. A scar peaked from underneath some red hair, the katana for ‘Love’. But that only made his skin look unblemished.

His frame was petite compared to Lee’s muscle, but Lee was able to trace the faint outlines of muscle in his shoulders and arms underneath the red jacket he wore. Lee flickered his eyes back to the red hair and had the overwhelming urge to touch it, to see if it was as soft as it looked. But his body wouldn’t obey and Lee let out a grunt of unhappiness.

This wasn’t fair. He wanted to touch the handsome man!

“I think…” Lee said but the words came out mumbled and sounded more like dry growls from the back of his throat.

A straw was pushed into his mouth and Lee felt something cool flood his mouth. A sigh made the liquid bubble as he slowly drank the water.

“What was that Lee?” asked the redhead as he leaned closer, his sea glass eyes seeming to dull with worry. Well, that wouldn’t do. Lee wanted to see those eyes sparkle, like a kaleidoscope.

“I think I might be in heaven,” Lee was finally able to say.

“And whys that?” asked Neji as he came into view. He didn’t look any better than Tenten. His hair in disarray, his uniform was dirty and he looked like he had aged 10 years since the last time Lee remembered seeing him.

“Because,” Lee said, a dopey smile crossing his face as he turned to regard the redhead. “I have a really hot angel to take care of me.”

The silence was so profound that you could have heard death walking down the hallway. Tenten’s jaw dropped and Neji looked like he swallowed a lemon. The redhead looked at Lee in confusion so Lee continued.

“Like seriously, there is no way someone as hot as you can be human. Gotta be an angel, no doubt,” Lee furrowed his eyebrows as a thought popped into his head. “Or maybe you’re a demon to tempt my soul. Not that I mind since you’re so damn handsome. That probably explains why you’re so hot. Maybe we can spar later?”

Lee hoped he gave the redhead a reassuring smile but he only looked confused as he regarded Lee’s teammate with a look of confusion.

“What’s your workout, because you should keep doing it. I can see those muscles on you and damn, it makes you look strong. Love that in a man,” Lee slurred. There was a snort from Tenten that was quickly covered by a cough.

“Like those shoulders look like you can ram me into walls and I can leave with happy bruises!” exclaimed Lee as there was another but louder snort-cough. “I bet your skin is super soft, like a kitten, but yet you’re still strong. Damn you really are perfect.”

“Lee?” asked the redhead cautiously. “Are you alright? Should I get a doctor?”

“Nah babe,” – _Babe, you even says that anymore?-_ “Don’t need a doctor, just need you. Love your jacket; it really fits you snugly, like a teddy bear snugly. Think I can try it on? Bet it would smell like you.”

Lee watched as the red head’s barely there eyebrows rise until it was at his hairline. He looked so lost and confused, like a lost puppy. But he shouldn’t be lost, he was with Lee! Lee took care and watched over those who were lost and important to him.

“You have the most gorgeous eyes I have ever seen. It’s like the sea is in them, so deep. Makes sense why you are so powerful; you got the power of the sea inside you!”

Lee could see Tenten's face was red and there were tears streaming down her face. Looks like she had gotten peppers in her eyes again. Neji didn’t look any better as he watched the scene unfolding with a look of amusement and wonder on his face.

“Think I could kiss you?” Lee asked suddenly and he saw the redhead stiffen before leaning away.

“I think you need to sleep some more Lee,” his voice was flat and his eyes guarded.

“No,” he moaned. “I just want you.”

“I'm getting the doctor,” the redhead aid assertively. Before Lee could get another word out, the redhead spun on his heels and was out the door in a blur of red and white.

Lee pouted as he sunk in his bed, his teammates finally collapsing into laughter. This was all the stupid scorpion queen’s fault. He would send her a mail full of glitter for chasing away the pretty redhead. Lee continued to pout until a doctor came and he slipped into darkness once more.

**Author's Note:**

> This kinda plays with the headcanon that Lee gets affected by strong painkillers like he does with alcohol. 
> 
> Leave a kudo if you enjoy it. Leave a comment if you have something to say.  
> Bookmark if you think it's good enough to read ;D


End file.
